ORDER I. CHELONIA.—- TORTOISES AND TURTLES. AAA 
brown, and fifteen scales, the medial of which have raised crests, are the 
principal characters of the species. It is an inhabitant of various seas, but 
has little commercial value, as the flesh and shell are worthless. It fur- 
nishes, however, a considerable quantity of oil, nearly equal in quaility to 
that of the whale, and which may be applied to the same uses. 
Genus Spuancis. — The Leather-backs. This series comprises those 
species which have no scales, but have the carapace, or upper armor, clad 
in a kind of leather. There are but two or three species mentioned. 
Genus Curtys. — The Chelydes, as these turtles are called, have an en- 
velope much too small to enclose all their limbs; their nose is prolonged 
into a little trunk; but their most prominent character is a widely-clett 
mouth, destitute of the horny beak which distinguishes other genera. 
Genus Trionyx. —The Soft Tortoise. The Soft Tortoises have no 
scales, but both the carapace and plastron are enveloped in a soft skin. The 
horn of their beak is invested with fleshy lips outside, and their nose is pro- 
longed, as in the Chelydes. They dwell in fresh water. 
T. Triunguis. —This species inhabits the northern portions of Africa, 
and is sometimes three feet long. It is of a green color, spotted with white. 
It destroys large numbers of young crocodiles, and thus renders an impor- 
tant service to the Egyptians. 
7. Ferow.— The American Trionyx. The rivers of Carolina, Georgia, 
Florida, and Guiana are the Aabitat of this animal. While it devours 
young alligators, it often falls a prey to the older ones. It seizes on birds 
and reptiles, for which it lies in ambuscade among the weeds. Its flesh is 
palatable and wholesome. 
The turtle, being cold-blooded, is obliged to confide the hatching of her 
eges to the sun, which generally accomplishes the task in three weeks. On 
creeping out of the eg, the young, even those of the largest species, are 
not larger than half a crown, and of a white color. Unprotected by a 
parent’s tenderness, the poor little creatures seem only to be born for imme- 
diate death. Their first instinctive movements are towards the element for 
which they are destined; slowly they drag themselves towards the water, 
but the sea meets them with a rough embrace, and the unmercifnl waves 
generally throw them back again upon the shore. Here they are attacked 
by great sea-birds, storks, and herons, against which, in spite of their small- 
ness, they make feeble efforts of defence or by still more powerful beasts 
of prey; and thus the greater part of the unfortunate brood is destroyed at 
its very first entrance into life, while those which reach the sea are gener- 
ally devoured by sharks and other sharp-toothed fishes. It is, therefore, not 
in vain that the turtle lays four or five hundred eggs in a single summer, for, 
were she less fruitful, the race would long since have been extinguished. 
